Starlight
by JaneIsles
Summary: Cuddy is nine-months pregnant and calls House because she needs some company and suddenly her water breaks...


August, 14th, 2008

It's a warm night in August and Cuddy can't help but get a little melancholy. She sits on her porch and watches the stairy sky in silence. The last time she did that is so long ago that she can't even remember it. She always had something else to care, or better said to worry about. But tonight she has all the time on earth to watch the stars. She wonders about the beautiful light and thinks about the wonder she's about to expect.

She leans back in her chair and sighs, because it's definitely still too hot outside.

The last days passed by very slowly and she enjoyed every moment of it. She was in a happy, expectantly and calm mood and nothing changed.

She can't help but smile when she feels her moving slowly.

Suddenly, she feels like she has to share it and despite that, she needs someone to talk to. She refused to spend the last days in the hospital.

She stands up slowly, because everything else is hardly possible and grabs the phone. She dials his number automatically.

"Hey House," she says happily. Too happy to his mind right now.

"Hey Cuddy," he answers little impressed.

"Don't be too excited about me calling you!" she says ironically.

"Why should I?" he wants to know.

"She moved!" Cuddy says happily.

"It's the third you call me this week to tell me that," he says and for a moment, she thinks to hear him laugh.

"Sportspoil," she says. "You miss me at work?" she wants to know a little teasing.

"Any reason to?" he asks and knows that she just tries to tease him.

"Idiot," she says. "You do miss me."

"Excuse me, you call all the time!"

"And you don't seem to mind that. She moved again," she says. "She does that a lot the last time."

"Well, that's what babies usually do," he says and his voice sounds different this time. He can't help but smile. In some ways, he's happy for her, but he would never tell her this. Despite that, he's waiting too. He's not really innocent, he's got quite an important part in this. He still doesn't know where he got himself into but he's secretly excited, even if it scares him a little.

"You're mean," Cuddy says and laughs. He likes the sound of her laughter. "Admit it!" she says. "I swear, I can hear you smiling."

"Got me!"he answers and she laughs again. Despite that, he still considers to tease her a little more, but he's not sure if it's a good idea to argue with a woman who's nine months pregnant.

All of sudden, her laughter stops.

"Fuck," she whispers and his heart stops beating for a second.

"Lisa?" he asks worried.

"Uh-oh, I think my water just broke," she says, her voice doesn't sound that happy anymore.

"Never scare me like this again!"

"Ha! I told you that you care!" she tells him. "You have to take me to the hospital, will you?" she asks, almost begging him.

"Sure, I'll be there," he says and drops the call.

For a moment, she's stunned because of his reaction. She didn't expect him to agree so easily, but she's glad that he did so.

The next contraction sets in and she leans forward slowly. She had a couple of contractions the last days, but they weren't that nasty. Right now, she still has enough time. She takes a few deep breaths and the pain fades a little.

She needs him to be there and she wants him to be at the hospital and no one else. No matter if he wants it or not.

During the next minutes, she tries to concentrate on staying calm, but it's pretty hard.

"Did I forget something?" she thinks when she walks trough her living room.

She walks up and down impatiently and prays that it won't take him too much time. She starts to count the minutes between the contractions.

"God," she whispers and leans forward when the pain sets in again. It feels like the distance between the contractions is shorter now.

"Not good," she thinks and walks a few more steps. "What if I made the wrong decision?" she asks herself. "What if I'm not ready for a child?" she tries to figure out some answers, but it appears impossible to get some.

She starts getting nervous.

"Okay baby you just wait a little, won't you?" she whispers and caresses her belly with her hands. "Just a few more minutes until he's here," she says.

A short time later, she hears a motorbike approaching.

"It can only be him," she thinks and to her own relief, he hears him walking to her front door. Thank God she gave him a key, because she would've refused to stand up now just to open the door. The last time she counted, there was only a distance of three minutes.

She closes her eyes and tries to relax a little when he calls her name.

"Lisa?"

"I'm here," she answers and he enters the room. The look on his face tells her that he's a little nervous or worried, maybe both, and she can't help but smile at this.

"You're nervous?" she asks with a smile on her face.

"And you look like you're totally relaxed," he answers and looks a little helpless. Cuddy laughs, but it's interrupted by another contraction and this time, House laughs.

"This is not funny!" she says and throws a pillow at him. "What," she says because it just comes to her mind. "You came here with your motorbike?"

"What else?" he asks. "Although it could be a little difficult to bring you to the hospital with it..."

"What now?"

"We'll take your car!"

"Oh... right," she answers.

"Now, where are your things?" he wants to know because they seem to forget something very important. He has to get her to the hospital as fast as possible.

"Bedroom," she replies and he leaves the room.

"I heard sex might help," she hears him saying and rolls her eyes.  
"Forget about it!" she answers, not that patient anymore. The contractions come faster and stronger and she feels like laying down, because somethings seems to go quite fast all of sudden.

"Greg?" she calls him and he doesn't like the sound of her voice.

"What's going on?" he wants to know, re-entering the room.

"I think it's too late to go to the hospital!" the look on his face turns into a shock and she watches him with a slight trace of amusement.

"What? You can't be serious!"

"I'm afraid that I am. You're a doctor!"

"But not a Gyn!"

"Doesn't matter," she says. "Now do something," she tells him a lot softer.

"But what?"he looks around the room and gives her the pillow back which she puts under her back.

"House," she says a little louder when he tries to figure out what to do next. "Get some towels," she tells him surprisingly soft and he enters the bathroom.

She just can't be mad with him right now.

"You got some warm water too?" she asks when he comes back.

"Sure," he says and for a moment, they look each other in the eyes.

"Ready?" he asks but both of them know they couldn't have waited any longer. "You need to take your pants off."

"The last time you told me that was a lot more charming," she says and he grins.

Suddenly, he doesn't feel that nervous anymore. He always thought it would feel weird, but it doesn't and he prays that everything will be alright.

"I swear I should kill you!" she whispers breathlessly between another contraction. She feels weak but she knows it'll pass. She grabs a towel that lays beside her and holds it tightly, trying to breath calmly.

"Later honey," he says and tries to concentrate on what's going on. "Okay keep on breathing," he tells her after what felt like an eternity and she tries to follow his orders. "Calmly," he says. "It's almost there, just one last time," he says and the moment he finally holds the baby in his arms, the world seems to stand still. He holds his breath, waiting for the redeeming scream.

And with it, his heart starts beating again and he smiles. He wraps the little girl in a towel and lays her in Lisa's arms.

"Hey girl," she says and touches her cheek, closing her eyes, smiling happily but exhausted. Her body is flushed with thousands of wonderful feelings and her eyes are filled with tears.

Again, she looks in his eyes, but this time she knows that it'll last longer.

Without a word, he sits down beside her and she takes his hand.

"Thank you," she says. "Thank you for everything," she says and is glad when he keeps on holding her hand.

"You wanna hold her?" she asks and looks at him. He seems a little insecure, but takes her.

Even he can't deny that it feels like a little miracle. He takes a deep breath and watches her with amazement. Every now and then, she cries for a few seconds. She's tired too and she might be hungry, he thinks.

"You got a name for her?" he asks Cuddy.

"No, I couldn't decide. You?"

"Not yet," he answers with a tired smile.

Almost an hour later, the baby sleeps in her little bed in the living room, Cuddy took a shower and he cleaned up the little mess they made before.

They sit on the sofa in the semi-darkness and watch their daughter sleeping in silence. They decided not to call anyone tonight, but to keep it their own secret for the rest of the night.

She leans against his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" House asks and turns his head to face her. He wipes a few hairs out of her face and looks in her eyes.

"Yes, I have any reason to be," she whispers and kisses him softly.

They keep on sitting there until they fall asleep, both knowing that their new life has just begun.


End file.
